Coat of arms of Iraq
| Coat of arms of Iraq | |
|---|---|
_of_Iraq_2008.svg) |
|
| Details | |
| Armiger | Republic of Iraq |
| Adopted | 2008 |
| Escutcheon | Tierced per fess Gules, Argent and Sable, on the centre fess the words 'Allahu Akbar' in Arabic Kufic script Vert. |
| Supporters | The eagle of Saladin, wings inverted Or. |
| Motto | The words 'Jumhuriyat Al-`Iraq' in Arabic script (Arabic: 'Republic of Iraq' |
The coat of arms or state emblem of Iraq is a golden black eagle looking towards the viewer's left dexter. The eagle is the Eagle of Saladin associated with 20th-century pan-Arabism, bearing a shield of the Iraqi flag, and holding a scroll below with the Arabic words جمهورية العراق (Jumhuriyat Al-`Iraq or "Republic of Iraq").
The first post-monarchical state emblem of Iraq (adopted under the republican government of Abd al-Karim Qasim) was based on the ancient sun-disk symbol of Shamash, and avoided pan-Arab symbolism by incorporating elements of Socialist heraldry. At the time of the Iraqi Revolution of 1958, Qassim had demonstrated strong pan-Arab and Arab nationalist views, however, these cooled somewhat during his presidency. The overthrow of Qasim's government by the Ba'ath Party in 1963 marked an increase in pan-Arab sympathies, a change which was demonstrated in the new national flag based on that of the United Arab Republic (UAR).
The new Iraqi coat of arms was similarly based on that of the UAR, namely the Eagle of Saladin, which had become a symbol of Arab nationalism following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Indeed, the only difference between the two coat of arms was the presence of three green stars in the vertical white band on the eagle's shield, as opposed to the two stars of the UAR, and the specific Arabic script in the scroll under the eagle's feet bearing the name of the official name state.
This version of the coat of arms remained in use until it was modified in January 1991, concurrently with the addition of the Takbir between the green stars on the flag of Iraq. To permit the Takbir to appear on the same line on the shield on the coat of arms, it was decided to make the bands on the shield horizontal instead of vertical. Of the six Arab states that are, or who have previously used the Eagle of Saladin in their coat of arms, post 1991-Iraq is the only state whose coat of arms has its national flag appearing horizontally rather than vertically on the shield.
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